After struggling through its first online reverse auction bidding, the Marion County Board of Supervisors is poised to make a decision next week on buying garbage trucks.
On Wednesday, county officials gathered to use the new state-mandated process for the first time, watching as bids popped up on a computer screen in the boardroom.
They started at $150,000 per truck and eventually dropped down to $133,500 after more than an hour of companies bidding down against each other.
Supervisors plan to make a decision on buying three new trucks Monday, but the process exasperated officials as they learned the new rules.
“It’s very frustrating when sealed bids worked fine,” Board Vice President Terry Broome said. “You get a more honest bid, a lower bid when they’ve only got one shot at it.”
Marion County is poised to take over collection services from contractor Waste Pro.
“We’ve been told the bid process could actually increase the cost by about 4 percent,” Broome said. “That’s the cost to the vendors to participate. We’ve also heard that new steel tariffs could increase the cost by up to 2 percent.”
The computer that displayed the Central Bidding Site showed the first bid shortly after 10 a.m. Six companies were competing with a variety of truck options. At first, the trucks were listed at $150,000, but moments later bids of $149,500 and $148,000 appeared.
Bidders called county officials as well as state officials over confusion in the process. With a roomful of curious onlookers, bids continued with the cost dropping to $146,000.
It was slated for an hour, but if a bid is placed in the final five minutes, the auction is extended by 15 minutes, Board Attorney Joe Shepard said. A 10:55 a.m. bid triggered that.
A $133,500 bid by Waters International Trucks of Hattiesburg ended as the lowest. But a $134,000 bid by Truckworx might prove better because it included an offer to buy trucks back in four years for $65,000.
Broome said Jeff Davis County, which had an exemption to use the old bid process, recently bought trucks for around $127,500.
“Our cost is $5,000 more,” he said. “ I’m not sure if it is the process, steel tariffs or increased costs.”
Caption: Supervisor Terry Broome and Board Attorney Joe Shepard watch electronic bids come through Wednesday for garbage trucks. It was the first reverse electronic auction for Marion County to hold since a new law took effect this year requiring that method.
